In 2017, I've been setting a weekly mantra for myself. Undoubtedly inspired by quotes (I'm a quote girl, you know it...I know it...and it's never gonna change!), each week I repeat the quote or mantra each day and look for ways the mantra presents itself in my world.

This week's mantra is to "remain unruffled", inspired by a pretty spectacular quote by Thomas Jefferson that's been giving me life this week amidst lots of things that would normally "ruffle" me.

Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.

— Thomas Jefferson

I won't go into a long-winded story here (I know, that's a first!!! More on Instagram)...but this set of images of Miss D seemed so calm, cool, collected, and UNRUFFLED AF. Something about her demeanor in these photos says "Whatevs. I'm just gonna keep doing my thing." and these photos are giving me life this week! ENJOY!

AHHHH! Yes. Unruffled AF. I adore these images and am so delighted that more and more clients are opting to do an artistic nude set. The resulting images are so classic, timeless, and FREAKING STUNNING.

I first met Livvy shortly after I moved to Austin. She was the model for our Austin Fashion Week Mash-Up team for which I was the photographer. This girl exuded such natural beauty and so much character through a simple gaze.

Fast forward several years and she is now a 20 year old badass musician with more direction in her "young" age than many people achieve in their whole lives.

I told her about how I started my first business at the age of 18 and of all the obstacles I've faced being a "young", female business owner. Bottom line, neither age NOR gender have anything to do with whether or not a person will be successful. I know plenty of 60 year old males who haven't accomplished a thing. ;)

A: I’m a musician and I study Music Business at UT. A few months ago I started a new group, The Wipe-Out Gang in which I sing and play guitar. I write all our songs in my very small room north of campus. Then I bring it to practice and play it to the guys who then write their parts to it. I also record and master along side my drummer and boyfriend in our hodge-podge home studio.

A: I really enjoy the aspect of freedom that comes with making music. Its such limitless field and theres so many facets I’ve yet to explore. There’s nobody standing over me managing what I do, at least at this point in my life, which is something I really like. Any positive feedback is extremely rewarding because what we produce is entirely from our own hands. With all this great freedom comes spider-man like responsibilities which can be pretty intimidating but its really worth it.

Q: Have you ever experienced gender discrimination? How has that affected you?

A: A couple times after we’ve played people have said I’m “a great chick guitarist,” which is interesting because nobody’s ever told our bassist, “you’re such a talented dude bassist”, that just sounds hilarious.

Q: What advice would you give to those women looking to take charge of their own success?

A: I really do think its important for us to completely commit ourselves to what makes us happy because all of us are going to die one day and we only have this short time to immerse ourselves in those things, right?! I found out when I was really young that for me, playing music with and for the people I love is what makes me happiest.

Q: Where do you want to be in 5 years?

A: I’d love for more people to listen to and enjoy my music. Learning about music business at UT will undoubtedly benefit me, so hopefully I’ll be in a studio or office somewhere working with music in that way as well. I’m 20 years old so hell if I know, but I couldn’t be happier with the way things are today.

Come see The Wipe-Out Gang play August 12 at Trailer Space Records!

THE AUSTIN BOSS CHICKS PORTRAIT PROJECT

I LOVE portrait projects and I do them often. One of my favorite things about being an Austin boudoir photographer is that I get to meet SO many women from different walks of life. Something I find in common with all of them is that they are total badasses at what they do! Austin is FULL of independent women and it makes my heart sing. I've dedicated the entire month of August to capturing as many Austin Boss Chicks as possible and sharing their stories (and their portrait) with y'all. I want to create a sense of community amidst badass local ladies and introduce them and their line of work to as many people as possible.

If you are an Austin female business owner and want to be a part of this project, fill out the contact form below! I've had an OVERWHELMING response already but am trying to get some variety (apparently I have 30,000 photographer contacts.) in industries! I'd love to hear from you ladies!

Name *

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email Address *

Business Website

Message *

Thank you! We're receiving a lot of requests for this project and won't be able to accommodate everyone, but if you are in an industry that we haven't covered yet, we'll be in touch! Yay!

HELLO, DAHHLING!

I'm Kara Marie and I'm a photographer of the modern woman. I wear an all black capsule wardrobe, my makeup “kit” fits in the palm of my hand, I feel best with no pants and messy hair, and my shoot aesthetic matches my own personal style. Feel free to browse around, I'm not shy. But do it with wine. Everything is better with wine.